Turtle Creek Cafe

By EWAN McDONALD for viva

Up at the "Darlinghurst" end of Hurstmere Rd, where one side of the street is cafes and the other is terrace-houses with metalwork lace and bare-branched trees, where the restaurants are individuals, owner-operated, unlike Franchise City in the blocks nearer town, is Turtle Creek.

Seven years old, which gives it the "been around so long it's part of the view" feeling that's an indispensable and indefinable part of a good neighbourhood restaurant, it's the sort of friendly little place that Sydney and Melbourne, and even Wellington, do better than Auckland. You know there might be one or two glitches with the service or the food but you're going to kick back for the evening.

Well, there were one or two glitches so we'll get them out of the way. Fifteen, possibly 20 minutes feels a long time to wait to order while staff are chatting behind the bar, though they did make up for lost time by cutting down on cooking the pizza bread with sweet onion and mozzarella. It would have been excellent if it'd had another couple of minutes.

Lindsay and Jan Swannack, who have owned and operated the restaurant since opening day, tell us their philosophy is based around the fact that the owners are always on site, and they aim to be "a truly local cafe-restaurant where customers can feel comfortable".

The menu has an around-the-world air ticket with stopovers in the Med and India: seafood chowder, seared lamb with crumbled goats' cheese, braised lamb kidneys, a vegetable cannelloni and chicken curry. With chicken breast or scotch fillet, mozzarella and mesclun, the burger emigrated from the US long ago and the gourmet pizzas have tried on some new clothes since they left Napoli. The menu is created each season by Sara Wright, formerly of Rock Salt in Orewa, who consults to several restaurants around the region, and put into the hands of head chef Diana Weaver.

Our mains, though enjoyable, were a little too complicated. The chicken breast had a latticework parmesan crackling on top, spinach and pinenut risotto beneath, crispy prosciutto (well, maybe) off to one side and is bathed in jus; the fish (tarakihi tonight) with a pistachio butter crust, spring onion potato cake, shrimp bacon salsa. Like Takapuna these days, the presentation is medium-rise.

Here we'll congratulate the staff, because our waitress didn't take the chance to sell us unnecessary side dishes. When we asked if we needed anything, she told us, "You'll find it's a complete meal but if you do want a salad we can whip it up."

And just to show that Wright and Weaver don't always over-egg the pudding, their semifreddo was probably the best part of the meal, nice'n'nutty'n'creamy with chocolate, pistachio, nougat and fudge sauce.

Lindsay is rightly proud of his wine list - "We focus on boutique vineyards and wines which are difficult to get hold of" - particularly a couple of Schubert reds, the 2000 syrah and 1999 cab sav.

In midwinter, it might be an idea to crank up the lighting - it's on the dim side - and perhaps that might be why the restaurant felt as though it lacked the verve of, say, Villa d'Vine in Herne Bay or Claret in Onehunga. It's certainly a different place on a summer evening with the bifold windows open to the street.

But, with good food and wine at prices well under those over the bridge, it's popular with locals (the place filled up, mostly with parties of women ). On a street of chain restaurants dishing up mass-produced chow, there's a lot to like about Turtle Creek.

Open: Tue-Sun dinner from 5pm, Sat-Sun brunch 8am-5pm, dinner from 5pm

Owner-operators: Lindsay and Jan Swannack

Head chef: Diana Weaver

Food: Contemporary NZ

On the menu:

Seafood chowder $10.50

Seared lamb, crumbled goats' cheese, fried potato, salad leaves, balsamic syrup, mustard oil $21.50

Bengal chicken curry, apricot chutney, cardamom scented rice, poppadom $24.90

Vanilla bean or passionfruit brulee with biscotti and cream $10.50

Vegetarian: Choices on menu

Wine: Concentrates on boutique vineyards, also BYO

Smoking: Footpath

Noise: Subdued

Disabled access / toilets: No worries

Parking: Easy street

Seven years old, which gives it the "been around so long it's part of the view" feeling that's an indispensable and indefinable part of a good neighbourhood restaurant. With good food and wine on a street of chain restaurants dishing up mass-produced chow, there's a lot to like about Turtle Creek.


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